The First Round
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 ST. LOUIS (51-20-11-1) vs. No. 8 SAN JOSE (35-37-10-7)
* Season series: St. Louis 4-0-1.
* Top scorers: St. Louis--Pavol Demitra 28-47--75. San Jose--Owen Nolan 44-40--84.
* Team goals-against average: St. Louis 1.98 (first). San Jose 2.57 (13th).
* Power play: St. Louis 17.8% (seventh). San Jose 16.4% (15th).
* Penalty killing: St. Louis 87.8% (second). San Jose 83.6% (17th)
* Keys for Blues: They’re smart, rarely rattled and sound in all three zones. Defensemen Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis are so durable, Coach Joel Quenneville can have one on the ice at all times, and each can change the tempo of a game. The “Slovak Pak” line of Demitra, Michal Handzus and Lubos Bartecko controls the puck well and is strong defensively. Pierre Turgeon (26 goals, 66 points in 52 games) can be a game-breaker for the team with the league’s top record.
* Keys for Sharks: They need better goaltending from Steve Shields (2.56 goals-against, .911 save percentage) and more production from Patrick Marleau, Niklas Sundstrom and Marco Sturm. They have speed and youth, but that’s not enough.
* Prediction: Blues in five.
* Schedule: Wednesday, at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, at St. Louis, 11 a.m.; April 17, at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.; April 19, at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.; April 21, x-San Jose at St. Louis, 4 p.m.; April 23, x-St. Louis at San Jose, TBA; April 25, x-San Jose at St. Louis, 6 p.m. (x-if necessary)
No. 2. DALLAS (43-29-10-6) vs. No. 7 EDMONTON (32-34-16-8)
* Season series: Dallas 3-0-1.
* Top scorers: Dallas--Mike Modano 38-43--81. Edmonton--Doug Weight 21-51--72.
* Team goals-against average: Dallas 2.21 (third). Edmonton 2.53 (12th).
* Power play: Dallas 15.7% (19th). Edmonton 15.8% (17th).
* Penalty killing: Dallas 89.3% (first). Edmonton 85.4% (10th).
* Keys for Stars: The defending Cup champions have weathered a series of injuries. Most telling is the knee injury suffered by Sergei Zubov, who quarterbacks their power play. Brett Hull had a quiet season (24 goals, 59 points, minus-20 plus/minus), and he must be a force. They added some young legs up front, but look for stalwarts Modano, Guy Carbonneau and Mike Keane to play important roles when the grinding begins.
* Keys for Oilers: A late push got them into the playoffs, but they shouldn’t have had to sweat so much. They have size and skill up front in Weight, Ryan Smyth (28 goals, 54 points) and Alex Selivanov (27 goals, 47 points), and goalie Tommy Salo (2.33 goals-against, .914 save percentage) is capable of stealing games. The more they use their speed, the better their chance of tiring the Stars’ defense.
* Prediction: Stars in six.
* Schedule: Wednesday, at Dallas, 4 p.m.; Thursday, at Dallas, 6 p.m.; Sunday, at Edmonton, 4 p.m.; April 18, at Edmonton, 6 p.m.; April 21, x-Edmonton at Dallas, 6 p.m.; April 23, x-Dallas at Edmonton, 4 p.m.; April 25, x-Edmonton at Dallas, 6 p.m. (x-if necessary)
No. 3 COLORADO (42-29-11-1) vs. No. 6 PHOENIX (39-35-8-4)
* Season series: 2-2.
* Top scorers: Colorado--Joe Sakic 28-53--81. Phoenix--Jeremy Roenick 34-44--78.
* Team goals-against average: Colorado 2.42 (sixth). Phoenix 2.74 (18th).
* Power play: Colorado 19.5% (fourth). Phoenix 11.9% (27th).
* Penalty killing: Colorado 84.5% (14th). Phoenix 85.9% (ninth).
* Keys for Avalanche: The Avalanche revived after acquiring Ray Bourque from Boston, thanks to his poise and quick outlet passes. But without center Peter Forsberg, Colorado’s depth will be tested. Milan Hejduk (36 goals, 72 points) and Chris Drury (20 goals, 67 points) improved on their rookie performances, and rookie Alex Tanguay (17 goals, 51 points) was impressive. Sakic was superb in the final weeks of the season.
* Keys for Coyotes: If they don’t choke it will be only because they don’t get a lead to squander. The Coyotes, who have lost nine playoff series dating to their Winnipeg days, are the NHL’s big enigma. It’s tough not to score more on the power play with Teppo Numminen and Jyrki Lumme on defense, but Phoenix ranks 27th. Keith Tkachuk has been idled by an ankle injury, but even at his peak he wouldn’t make much difference.
* Prediction: Colorado in five.
* Schedule: Thursday, at Colorado, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colorado, 11 a.m.; April 17, at Phoenix, 7 p.m.; April 19, at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.; April 21, x-Phoenix at Colorado, 6:30 p.m.; April 22, x-Colorado at Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.; April 25, x-Phoenix at Colorado, 7 p.m. (x-if necessary)
No. 4 DETROIT (48-24-10-2) vs. No. 5 KINGS (39-31-12-4)
* Season series: 2-2-1.
* Top scorers: Detroit--Steve Yzerman 35-44--79. Kings--Luc Robitaille 36-38--74.
* Team goals-against average: Detroit 2.53 (10th). Kings 2.74 (17th)
* Power play: Detroit 20.4% (first). Kings 16.9% (11th).
* Penalty killing: Detroit 85.9% (eighth). Kings 82.3% (21st).
* Keys for Red Wings: Unlike last season, they were quiet before the trading deadline. They were 12-4-4 to end the season, led by Nicklas Lidstrom’s outstanding two-way play. The NHL’s top-scoring team, with 278 goals, the Red Wings have strength up the middle with Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov and grinder Brent Gilchrist.
* Keys for Kings: They must hit defensemen Larry Murphy, Steve Duchesne and Chris Chelios to prevent quick passes to the forwards that launch Detroit’s transition game. Chelios can be goaded into bad penalties. The Kings will need all their grit against a team that’s superior in skill and depth. It’s a lot to expect Ziggy Palffy to be in game shape after missing a month to heal a sprained shoulder, but Palffy, Robitaille and Jozef Stumpel must be effective for the Kings to have a prayer.
* Prediction: Detroit in six.
* Schedule: Thursday, at Detroit, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, at Detroit, 11 a.m.; April 17, at KINGS, 7 p.m.; April 19, at KINGS, 7 p.m.; April 21, x-at Detroit, 4 p.m.; April 23, x-at KINGS, noon.; April 25, x-at Detroit, 4 p.m.; (x-if necessary)
